XZero771679666304

Found your problem. Maybe you could start liking a better team? Easier said than done. And I'm totally with you, KatJ. My mood is impacted by the Cubs to a far greater degree than it really should be. So far, I've been unable to find a cure. Death is the only cure. If a person can just start rooting for a different team, then they never really lived and died with their team to begin with.

Yes he is. A good game does not erase a terrible career. My point is is that is getting a little ridiculous to see everybody freak out if he is in the starting lineup. He shouldn't be a starter, but obviously he will start some games this year. Can we stop the NSBB PMS whenever he is starting? People freak out because Dusty is dumb enough to keep starting him if he does well.

Yes he is. A good game does not erase a terrible career. Just like last year's good 1 1/2 months did not erase the god awful 3 1/2 months that followed.

Did you say "ute"??? What's a ute??? Someone from Utah. Or a Native American.

In all fairness, Z and Rusch were pitching in GABP, while Maddux is pitching at Wrigley with the wind blowing in at 25 MPH. I think Maddux has it a little bit easier, but he's still pitching a great game. Regardless of the weather, Z just didn't throw strikes, and it's not like he was protecting a one run lead. As good as the stuff that Z has, when he has a big lead, he should just feed the strike zone and let the rest take care of itself. The same applies to Wood, who also has a tendency to nibble.

That's an ironic sentiment - which one did Tavarez punc a few weeks ago? What does Tavarez have to do with that?

how can any play that involves having a guy blindly sprint toward home plate while the pitched ball is heading to the guy standing right on top of home plate be 'not very risky'? a missed bunt, an unbuntable ball out of the strike zone, or a popped up bunt is a disaster. When the batter at the plate is just as likely to put the ball in play with bunt as with a swing. Check that, MORE likely to put the ball in play with a bunt. I generally don't like the squeeze, but with Pierre, the odds are even at worst.

People that call Wrigley a homer happy park apparently don't pay attention to days like this.

Because it tells us that Dusty has at least some brain activity. the squeeze is little more than a show off move for the manager. it's unnecessarily risky. Not with a great bunter like Pierre hitting. It's not very risky at all. . you do realize that he ended up getting a hit, right? wouldn't you take that over a run scoring sac bunt or a rally killing caught stealing? You realize that nearly all of the outs Pierre makes are pop ups and weak grounders right? Neither give a great chance for a runner at third to score. Yes, he got a hit, but it was more likely that he doesn't get the runner hom if he swings away. The squeeze was a good move.

Because it tells us that Dusty has at least some brain activity. the squeeze is little more than a show off move for the manager. it's unnecessarily risky. You have one of the game's best bunters with great speed at bat and someone with great speed on 3rd. Letting Pierre swing away was just as much of a risk.

Because it tells us that Dusty has at least some brain activity.

Ugh Tacky.

I said it before, and I'll say it again: I have no problem with him being shut down and tested.

You're entitled to your opinion, of course, but I see no evidence that he is weak-bodied, frail or brittle. You've done nothing to persuade me. He's a healthy young man who places an enormous strain on his arm in the course of pitching. Is Josh Beckett a wimp because of his blisters? What about Gagne and his multiple elbow surgeries (I believe he's on #3)? Kerry Wood? Jason Isringhausen? Injuries happen. Patricularly to pitchers. No, they're not wimps, they're liabilities at their contracts. Prior isn't at that point yet, but he will be in a couple years. Better to trade him before that happens. I'm not where you are. I wouldn't trade Mark because I don't think he is fragile. I think that he might be starting to believe he is though. I fully believe Prior will be a consistently dominant pitcher again, and if anything the injury fiasco of the past couple years will allow the Cubs to afford both he and Z by keeping his price down.

You know, if I had 10's of millions of dollars riding on it and I had the access...I think I'd go to Andrews and Jobe every time I felt something that wasn't right, too. Let me say that I am probably as big a Prior fan as anyone on this board. But the league has a lot of high priced pitchers, and I would wager not too many of them rush to see the top specialists in the countery to diagnose a freaking strain. I fail to see why the Cubs doctors couldn't handle it. I think Mark panics when he experiences pain.

I don't think it is reasonable. And even if they do have a pretty good idea after an injury, it would be irresponsible to make a public statement about a diagnosis before tests are even conducted. If people have blasted the Cubs for a bad diagnosis in the past, just imagine what would happen if they made such a statement. I don't see how the Cubs could've handled this any better. Regardless, you shouldn't have to be sent to a top specialist to diagnose a moderate strain. Maybe that reflects more poorly on the training staff than Mark. And with all due respect, a pitcher saying "I think it's bad" or "I don't think it's bad" is hardly a public diagnosis. Besides, it's not like the Cubs have even an iota of credibility left to damage in this department.

Yes, I pitched. And even in ths short time I did, I learned to differentiate between normal soreness, strains and tweaks, and a tear. I strained my shoulder, wrist and elbow with unfortunate regularity because I overthrew a lot. I tore a ligament in my wrist, and I knew instantly that it was not just a strain. Unlike some of the others here, I am not bothered that Prior got checked out and was shut down. What bothers me is that a ML pitcher like Prior doesn't know his own body well enough to say outright whether something feels serious or not. Is he going to have to be sent to a specialist for every tweak he ever has?

There is a distinction that is not being made here. The ability to sustain and heal injuries quickly and the ability to endure and manage pain are two very different things. I have never, nor would I question the former in Prior's case. What I am questioning is Prior's constitution, not his physical endurance. I just find it odd that he reacted in a sudden and alrming way to what amounted to one total non injury and one very minor one. After Prior cut his seesion short last month, no one said "this is minor pain" or "we think is just a strain". There was a very serious air. I am no professional athlete, but I know the difference between a strain, sprain or irritation and something serious like a tear when I get hurt, and I have been hurt a fair bit. I don't know if some people, including myself, are reacting this way to Prior's injuries because he really can't manage his pain, or because the cloak and dagger way the Cubs deal with injuries always has us primed for something far worse. Regardless, it is getting old. Of course not. That's what the tests are for. They correctly recognized it was not normal soreness and took the proper precautions. The tests confirmed that it was not normal. It turned out to absolutely be the right thing to do. How can he be criticized for doing the right thing? Pitching through pain is almost always a pretty bad idea. Don't forget what trying to pitch through such an injury could do. If they didn't shut him down, he'd be putting his rotator cuff in danger and at the very least would almost certainly be behind where he is now. I have no problem with him being checked out, none whatsoever. I have no problem with him being shut down for 10 days. But as someone with a fair bit of experience with these types of injuries, I know you have some idea of what the problem is before you go to the doctor. What I am sick of is the fact that we are never given an indication of the severity. Even immediately after an injury, most athletes can tell between "not normal, but probably minor" and "not normal, and possibly serious". That early differentiation is absolutely not unreasonable to expect.

The thought of having a nerve removed disturbs me on a visceral level.

There is a distinction that is not being made here. The ability to sustain and heal injuries quickly and the ability to endure and manage pain are two very different things. I have never, nor would I question the former in Prior's case. What I am questioning is Prior's constitution, not his physical endurance. I just find it odd that he reacted in a sudden and alrming way to what amounted to one total non injury and one very minor one. After Prior cut his seesion short last month, no one said "this is minor pain" or "we think is just a strain". There was a very serious air. I am no professional athlete, but I know the difference between a strain, sprain or irritation and something serious like a tear when I get hurt, and I have been hurt a fair bit. I don't know if some people, including myself, are reacting this way to Prior's injuries because he really can't manage his pain, or because the cloak and dagger way the Cubs deal with injuries always has us primed for something far worse. Regardless, it is getting old.

Would be covered with Secret Service agents.

I like it. Once the bleachers are painted, I think it will look even better. I also think the suite in CF will actually improve the hitter's background. The outside (except for the signage) looks 110% better, IMO.

Despite a diagnosis by a medical doctor and several statements from O'Neal saying otherwise? Oh, I thik he was hurt, but not badly at all. What were they going to say? "Mark is fine, it's just that he is a sissy."? I don't doubt there was a slight strain, but I also question Mark's ability to differentiate between normal and abnormal pain. As for the diagnosis, I have gone to the doctor with what I knew was nothing and come out with an inflated diagnosis. If you really want to find something wrong, you will. My bottom line opinion is this: Mark overreacted to his pain, the doctors found something very minor, and now they are pushing the time table because they know it can be pushed.

None of the above. Blech. That's the whole point. If wer'e gonna speculate about who the next manager could be, let's talk about the types of guys that actually have a chance at getting interviewed by the Cubs. And after doing so, we can ask ourselves if we still want Dusty gone for one of them. My question is, why are those the types, and how would you know?

I have 12: ARod - 1 Pujols - 3 ARam - 1 Berkman - 1 Chavez - 1 Blalock - 1 V. Martinez - 1 Helton - 0 Morneau - 0 Gomes - 1 Thome - 2